HS BOYS' BB: Golden Bears learn to win by losing

Friday's District 11 Class A championship game against Pius X at Stroudsburg High School had the distinct look of potentially being another. It certainly would have been the toughest of all to take.

But a devastating loss wasn't to be. When a 3-pointer by the Royals' Eric Marbury bounced off the back of the rim as the buzzer went off, the Golden Bears had held on for a 57-55 victory.

Other than a 35-21 defeat to Pottsville in the Schuylkill League title game Feb. 15, Mahanoy Area was in position to win the game in each of their fourth other losses. In three of them, the Golden Bears had second-half leads.

- On Dec 11 against North Schuylkill, Mahanoy Area led 29-20 late in the third quarter and were up 35-34 early in the fourth before the Spartans finished on a 14-8 run and won 48-43.

- On Dec. 28 against New Hope Academy in the Cardinals Classic championship game at Pine Grove, the Golden Bears were up 39-33 entering the fourth quarter and lead by four with 6 seconds left in regulation. But the Mighty Ants tied the game on a layup with 0.8 seconds left and won 58-53 in overtime.

- On Feb. 5 against rival Marian, Mahanoy Area was up 40-36 with 3:36 left in the game. The Colts, however, ended up winning 49-47 in double overtime.

All those losses are distant memories. Senior point guard Kyle McGee felt those tough defeats taught the Golden Bears how to win under pressure.

"That just helped us overcome all this," he said. "All that actually helped. The losses were tough and everything, but it pays off in the end because we have the experience. It taught us a lesson."

One area of improvement was foul shooting. The Golden Bears were only 5-for-10 from the line in the fourth quarter Friday, but hit some key free throws down the stretch.

Andy Kuzma hit two with 1:23 left in a 1-and-1 situation, while Dylan Mahmod had two more with 41 seconds remaining in a double-bonus situation. Both times it gave Mahanoy Area a 5-point lead. Brian Miller also knocked down the second of a double-bonus situation with 5 seconds left, setting the final.

The Golden Bears also turned the ball over only one time in the fourth quarter, despite the Royals turning up the defensive pressure.

A little bit of good fortune didn't hurt, either.

The best example came with a 1 minute left when Mahanoy Area almost turned the ball over in the corner. Instead, the ball ended up rolling to Miller underneath the basket. He laid it in, making it 54-49.

Then there was the late 3-point attempt by Marbury, who hit a trey from almost the exact same spot with 17 seconds left in the game to pull Pius X to within 56-54.

Mahmod, who was guarding Marbury, remembered how Pottsville's Travis Blankenhorn hit a 3-pointer over him to win a junior high game a few years back. There was certainly apprehension when Marbury released his shot, but it quickly turned to relief for Mahmod.

"It was just my turn to get this one," he said.

Bears-Royals Round 3?

Could these two teams met in the district title game next season, too?

It is certainly possible.

Of the game's 10 starters, the only senior was McGee. The only other seniors on each team's roster - Bobby Van Horn for Mahanoy Area and Chris Jackson for Pius X - didn't play Friday.

(Carnahan is the boys' basketball beat writer for The Republican-Herald. Read his blog at blogs.republicanherald.com/ac/)

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